


Medieval Encounters

by applesaucecat



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Catra (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Catra (She-Ra) Redemption, F/F, Lesbian Adora (She-Ra), Lesbian Catra (She-Ra), Lesbian Disaster Adora (She-Ra), Past Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Poor Catra (She-Ra), Princess Adora (She-Ra), Princess Catra (She-Ra), she-ra au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:14:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25386643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/applesaucecat/pseuds/applesaucecat
Summary: “Oh, you’re awake.  I’m Adora.”Catra made no move to respond.“That’s okay, I know your name is Catra.  Auntie told me not to bother you but I thought you might not be asleep.  Also, I brought you a snack.  Sorry it’s a little squished, it was in my pocket.”Medieval AU.  Adora meets Catra when they're little.  They grow up together, learning things like fencing, riding, politics, etc.  But how happy can they be when the Evil Horde encroaches further and further into peaceful territories?
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Catra/She-Ra (She-Ra)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 47





	1. Chapter 1

When Adora first saw Catra, the other girl was crying, her tail close to her body and her brown hair puffed around her face. The guard with dark circles under his eyes who accompanied her passed her into Castaspella’s arms and immediately turned back where he’d come from. Adora stood on her tippy-toes to try to see the new arrival, but her messy hair blocked her from view.  
“Auntie,” Adora pleaded.  
“Not now, Adora. This girl needs food and sleep.” Cataspella whisked away and Adora was left standing alone in the doorway of Bright Moon Castle.

Castaspella arrived late for dinner, without the girl. She sat next to Adora with a sigh that meant this was going to be a serious talk.  
“Adora. The girl who arrived today is Catra. She is from Gata Reina, a kingdom not too far from Bright Moon. She-” Castaspella’s voice broke and her eyes glistened as she stroked Adora’s blonde hair. “She’s going to live with us for a bit. Her family is...gone, so we need to make her feel like our family.”  
Adora’s little voice interrupted, “Gone like my family?”  
“Yes, Adora.”  
They both sat in silence for a moment, Adora looking on while Castaspella was lost in her thoughts.  
“Adora, Catra is very scared. I need you to help her, okay? Show her around the castle and be very gentle with her. Can you do that for me?”  
“Yeah!” Adora’s blue eyes were too big for her baby face and the gap in her teeth showed when she grinned. “I will take care of Catra!”  
Castaspella smiled softly and patted Adora’s head as she stood. “I’m sure you will. She’s sleeping right now in the room next to yours, so don’t wake her up.”  
Adora nodded solemnly and returned to devouring her dinner.

Catra was terrified. Her mother had handed her to one of the guards as soon as she smelled smoke. Before Catra could ask what was happening, she was in front of the guard on a horse, racing away from her home. After a while, she fell into an uncomfortable sleep. Everytime she opened her eyes, the sky was a different color. She didn’t know how long they rode, but they eventually stopped in front of huge wooden doors. Without another word, she was passed into a stranger’s arms and left. Her whole body ached from being curled up on the horse for who knows how long. As the woman carried her down the hall, she got a glimpse of a scruffy looking little girl with huge blue eyes.  
After a hot bath that Catra didn’t react to, she was given a hot meal. The food all looked different than she was used to. Even the bread looked different, fluffy and white. Even though her stomach growled, she refused it. After realizing she couldn’t get Catra to eat, the woman tucked her into a bed that practically swallowed Catra’s tiny body. Catra didn’t have the energy to fight any of it, even after the woman turned off the lights and left. Catra felt sick, but she didn’t feel sleepy, so she spent the next few hours motionless in the big bed. She was afraid that if she looked at anything besides the blank wall she would remember she wasn’t home.  
When Catra thought everyone else would be asleep, she heard a quiet creak and small, clumsy footsteps approaching the bed. Her heterochromatic eyes were wide open when the little blonde girl stepped in front of her.  
“Oh, you’re awake. I’m Adora.”  
Catra made no move to respond.  
“That’s okay, I know your name is Catra. Auntie told me not to bother you but I thought you might not be asleep. Also, I brought you a snack. Sorry it’s a little squished, it was in my pocket.”  
Adora placed a mostly crumbled cookie in front of Catra. Her nose twitched. She was really hungry, and it did smell pretty good…  
“Hey, if you don’t want it, just tell me so I can eat it. It’s my favorite.”  
Cautiously, Catra stuck out a skinny arm to grab the cookie and shove it into her mouth. Crumbs spread all over the bed, but Catra didn’t care. It was good. Almost as good as the expression of joy that spread across the blonde girl’s face.  
“You like it? I can go get more!” Without another word, Adora sprinted from the room. Catra curled up smaller, despite the ache in her limbs. Tentatively, she licked the crumbs off the bed and closed her eyes to savor the rich flavor. She jumped when Adora announced her return with a giggle.  
“Look, Catra! I got loads more!” She dumped about a dozen large cookies from her shirt, which she had been using like a basket to carry them. Adora was literally bouncing on her toes in excitement.  
“Go on! Eat as many as you want!”  
So Catra did. The other girl climbed on the bed with her and they monched on ginger cookies. Catra was still quiet, but Adora kept up a constant stream of chatter. When the sweets were gone, Catra felt her eyelids grow heavy.  
“Hey, is it okay if I sleep in here with you? I’m too tired to go back to my room.” Adora didn’t mention that her room was right next door, she just wanted to keep an eye on this strange new guest. Catra shrugged and flopped on her back. Within moments, both girls were asleep, crumbs in their hair and between the sheets. In the morning when Castaspella peeked in, Catra’s head was under Adora’s chin and Adora’s arm over the smaller girl’s shoulder.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Catra speaks

In the morning, Adora tried to sneakily slip all her breakfast into her pockets. Catra had refused to leave her room and Adora wanted to bring food back to her. Adora was very bad at sneaking, so when Castaspella noticed, she simply shook her head and prepared a breakfast for two on a platter that she handed to Adora.  
“Thank you, Auntie!” Adora tottered off down the hall, struggling to hold the tray of food that weighed half as much as her. When she burst into Catra’s bedroom, the girl hissed in surprise, but crawled off the bed at the sight of food. Adora placed the tray on the floor between them and sat down. Cautiously, Catra sidled over, almost tripping on the long hem of one of Adora’s old nightgowns.  
“Good morning, Catra! Here, have some juice!” Adora pushed half the food towards Catra and began stuffing the other half in her mouth, but hesitated when Catra made no move to eat.  
“Come on, it’s really good. I know you must be hungry because you ate so many cookies. This stuff is good too though! Look, this is bread dipped in eggs and fried-” Adora lifted the toast to show it and Catra saw regular scrambled eggs and bacon underneath. Finally, something that seemed normal. She lunged at it, practically licking it off the plate. Adora giggled.  
“So you like eggs and bacon, me too! But if you don’t want your toast, I guess I’ll eat it…” Adora moved the toast to her mouth with exaggerated slowness. Catra hesitated before snatching it away and taking a big bite. It actually was good. Invigorated by her positive experience with the unfamiliar food, Catra finished the rest of her breakfast with no qualms.

They spent the rest of the day exploring the castle and stealing food. Catra wore a dress that used to be Adora’s, it was pink and sparkly and had a big bow in the back. Adora said Catra would get her own clothes in a few days. She wanted stuff like Adora, who wore boy clothes. Catra had never really worn trousers, but they looked nice and had pockets that Adora filled with sweets and cool rocks. Adora’s favorite part of the castle was the dueling arena. She said she couldn’t wait until she was big enough to duel. In the meantime, she spent most of her time on the training grounds. She eagerly showed Catra her wooden sword and, just to be impressive, a few of her moves. She was good, dancing around with her sword almost like a grown-up.  
Catra’s favorite place was the Castle gardens. There were lots of places to hide and climb.  
“Hey, look at me!” Adora shouted from a low-hanging branch. Catra scowled, it wasn’t even high up. A baby could climb there. In a flash, Catra was at the top of the tree, looking down smugly at Adora.  
“Wow, you’re really fast, Catra! How did you even get up there?”  
Catra almost shrugged, but she felt like showing off a little. She grinned and flashed her claws at Adora, who’s eyes widened in jealousy then narrowed in determination. Carefully, she stood so she was balancing on the branch, then she jumped to grab the trunk of the tree, trying to catch it with her nails. It didn’t work and she found herself lying on her back on the ground with the wind knocked out of her. Catra stared at her in shock before bursting into tears. Coughing, Adora tried to push herself up.  
“Catra,” cough. “It’s okay,” cough. “I’m okay. You don’t have,” cough. “To cry. It’s okay.”   
Slowly, Catra’s tears stopped. This girl just fell out of a tree and her main concern was making sure Catra was okay? She wiped her nose and climbed down to help Adora stand.  
“Thanks, Catra. Oof, that hurt. Sorry I made you cry.”  
Catra shook her head, wordless. Together, they made their way back to the castle.  
“Ah, Adora, Catra, there you two are! It’s time for din- Adora! What happened to you!?” Castaspella grabbed Adora’s face. It was only then that Catra noticed the scratch across Adora’s cheek, bleeding just a little below her eye. A branch must have struck her as she fell. She curled her tail around her legs, still feeling guilty.  
“I’m fine, Auntie. I just fell. Then Catra helped me, so I’m okay.”  
Castaspella pursed her lips and glanced at Catra. “Well, thank goodness she was there. Imagine if you had really hurt yourself and no one was around to help! Please be more careful.”  
Adora hung her head. “Yes, Auntie.”  
Castaspella crossed her arms and huffed. “You are both a mess, go get clean and come down for dinner, it’s ready.”  
Adora and Catra meekly made their way up the stairs to their rooms.  
“I’ll show you where everything is, don’t worry. We can get clean in your room so you get used to it.” Adora showed Catra where the washcloths and soap were then helped her wash her face and hands. Catra only had the dress she’d worn that day and the nightgown from the night before, so Adora changed into a nightgown as well.  
Dinner was delicious and Catra was glad she’d gotten over her apprehension from earlier. She chewed as Adora recounted all of the day’s events for Castaspella, who always seemed interested.   
“And how about you, Catra?” Castaspella was smiling at her across the table. “Did you have fun too?”  
Catra froze. Adora sent her an encouraging smile that melted some of her anxiety. Still looking at Adora, Catra nodded.   
“Excellent, I’m so glad to hear that!”  
Adora beamed, pleased that her new friend had had fun. Catra smiled back shyly. She felt something warm bloom in her chest. 

At bedtime, the girls sat on Catra’s bed while Castaspella read them a story. It was about a valiant knight who slayed a dragon and saved the kingdom.   
“I’m gonna slay a dragon some day.” Adora’s face was focused and bright. When Catra looked at her, she believed it could happen. Castaspella’s expression was oddly sad.  
“Goodnight, girls. Adora, let our guest rest.” She kissed their foreheads and left quietly. After she was gone, Adora started to slide off the bed.  
“Well, goodnight, Catra.”  
A clawed hand reached out and closed around her wrist.  
“Hey, Adora?”  
Adora looked at Catra with wide eyes. Her voice was low and rough, unlike anything Adora had ever heard. It sounded a little bit like how a lion might talk–if that lion was a 2 foot 5 inch girl.  
“Would you stay with me again tonight?”  
Adora smiled and wriggled under the sheets. She closed her eyes and wrapped an arm around Catra. As she drifted asleep, she thought she heard her new friend purring.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this!! One of my favorite fantasies in being in medieval times and growing up sparring my future lover, so I decided to do that with my two fave gals.


End file.
